Ellie Mae's (ELLI+17.6%) big Q4 beat is accompanied by guidance for 2016 revenue of $317M-$321M and EPS of $1.79-$1.86, above a consensus of $306.6M and $1.72. Reported 2015 revenue and EPS was respectively $253.9M and $1.69.

Q1 guidance is in-line: Revenue of $67.5M-$68.5M and EPS of $0.29-$0.31 vs. a consensus of $68M and $0.31.

CEO Jonathan Corr: "We have built a powerful all-in-one mortgage management platform and network that provides one system of record for lenders to originate and fund mortgages, is deeply integrated with a broad array of vendors, investors and agencies, and allows lenders to achieve loan quality, regulatory compliance and operating efficiency." He declares his company's 2016 new business pipeline to remain "very robust."

Also possibly weighing: LinkedIn (down 39.6%), which derives a large % of its revenue from cloud-based recruiting and sales tools for enterprises, issued weak Q1/2016 guidance.

Given the magnitude of the drops, margin calls and forced selling by funds could be playing a big role. The Nasdaq is down 2.2%.

Tableau suggested its growth slowdown has to do with softening IT spend and a need to improve sales productivity, but analysts have raised questions about competition from the likes of Microsoft, Amazon, and Qlik. LinkedIn forecast a growth slowdown for its field sales hiring solutions business, while blaming European/Asian macro pressures. The company also noted its display ad business continues declining amid weak industry growth.

Like clockwork, high-beta tech stocks continue selling off at a feverish pace as markets nosedive. Today's selloff comes with the Nasdaq down 2.7%, and the S&P 3%. Margin calls are likely a contributing factor.

Solar stocks, which sold off yesterday even as major indices moved little, are underperforming again as energy stocks get routed once more and oil drops below $27/barrel. Hard-luck SunEdison (SUNE-13.6%) is now close to $2. Also tumbling: Canadian Solar (CSIQ-8.8%), ReneSola (SOL-8.2%), and Yingli (YGE-6.9%).

Security tech plays FireEye (FEYE-9.3%), Palo Alto Networks (PANW-6.1%), Rapid7 (RPD-11.6%), and Vasco (VDSI-10.5%) aren't faring better - peers Fortinet and Barrcauda were downgraded this morning. Nor are Splunk (SPLK-7.7%) and Tableau (DATA-7.2%), two firms often hyped as big data/analytics plays, or Russian tech firms Yandex (YNDX-6.6%) and Qiwi (QIWI-6.9%), which often sell off when oil prices and the ruble are under pressure.

With the help of healthy U.S. origination activity, Ellie Mae more than doubled from the start of 2015 to its August peak of $82.92. Shares pared their gains later in the year amid expectations of Fed rate hikes and slower housing market growth. A Q3 beat and mixed Q4 guidance was provided in October.